Tweaking the Oilfield Forecast

Despite November and December kicking in the oilfield’s teeth, the year turned out pretty good.  But this brake tapping has dampened enthusiasm for spending going into 2019. 

In the summer of 2018 we expected the global oilfield to grow 7% year over year… solid, but hardly a record pace.  Now that Q4 2018 earnings are flowing in it looks like growth was 10%, so we’ve adjusted our 2018 market numbers upward and recast our 2019 market estimates.  

Here below is the year-to-year change in global oilfield equipment and service markets:

8% growth for the global oilfield in 2019 is right in the fairway for most of the growth years since 2008.  Inside this 8% global growth will be modest growth for North American land products and services, and strong growth for international and offshore oilfield services.  For the first time in half a decade, international will be in the spotlight as a hotbed of activity.

In the summer of 2019 when we re-examine this forecast for the year, I bet we’ll nudge the growth upward.